sun-touched
by EscapismReigns
Summary: Some relationships are sudden, and most are fleeting. Yet theirs is a build-up of small moments, and for Amaya it burns brighter than the sun. Janai/ Amaya drabbles leading up to the S3 finale, plus one future fic.
1. Chapter 1

**sun-touched **

**Some relationships are sudden, and most are fleeting. Yet theirs is a build-up of small moments, and for Amaya it burns brighter than the sun. **

**Janai/ Amaya drabbles leading up to the S3 finale + one future fic.**

* * *

There's something significant about the moment when Amaya first sees her. For as long as she lives, she'll never be able to forget it.

The nameless three she has just dispatched – sent hurtling over the lava falls, in fact – fade from her mind as she takes in this new challenger. A helmet perches itself like a crown on gold-ringed horns, and her feline eyes regard Amaya; beautiful, contemptuous, and full of hate.

Amaya bares her teeth at the elf, just to let her know the sentiment is returned.

At some point, Amaya realises the elf is most likely a Sunfire knight. She has encountered enough during her time here to have a healthy level of caution, but this knight is unlike any Amaya has encountered before.

She imagines it was elves such as this that massacred her brother-in-law and countless others, that stole her nephews from their beds. Bile curdles in her throat.

Her opponent holds herself like a predator, and for once Amaya isn't certain of victory. The very air suddenly seems heavy and oppressive with anticipation.

Although could just be the river of lava. She hasn't decided yet.

But there's no time for curiosity. The Sunfire knight draws her burning sword, and Amaya darts forward. The elf moves just as fast as Amaya does, maybe faster, and that spirits-cursed sunforge blade is as much a worry as it is a wonder.

Especially when it shears straight through Amaya's sword. Her favourite fucking sword.

She scowls her attacker, and throws herself behind her shield. Amaya feels the moment that she loses the battle, and her muscles strain with effort as the elf pushes her against the rock, caging Amaya in.

All Amaya can think is that she has to distance herself _now now now_.

By a fine hair and a well-placed kick, Amaya's luck proves itself and before long she's speeding away on horseback. The curtain of lava blurs as she rides, the pulsing and inexorable heat Amaya's constant companion.

By all rights she should be exhausted, angry, and frustrated. And she is. But she finds herself also thinking, _how interesting._

* * *

Over the next few weeks she finds her thoughts drifting back to the knight, and at the most inconvenient of times. Like when she should be scouting the fiery horizon for any and all Sunfire elves, when Amaya knows in her heart she is just looking for a glimpse of one in particular.

There are a hundred more worrying matters to go grey and wrinkly about, numbers one through fifty involving her missing nephews and their tiny, vicious, pointy-eared captor. And Gren. Who she still hasn't heard from.

She hates it. The distraction. And she hates the knight, too. Just for good measure.

If Fake Gren and her soldiers think her more grumpy than usual, they don't say anything and they certainly don't speculate as to why. At least within eyesight. Well, most of them – apparently her veterans are back to hazing the green recruits by telling them that she can't read lips.

Poor greenies. They'll beat them into shape in no time.

But all those thoughts are brushed aside when Amaya leads her soldiers back to the secret outpost on the Xadian side of the border. The hairs on the back of Amaya's neck rise and stay risen from the start, her knuckles white from gripping the reins so hard.

There's something wrong, she just doesn't know what it is yet. Suddenly her armour feels too restricting, trapping her in one spot.

But if the abandoned, still-steaming food they find didn't scream ambush, then one of her missing soldiers reappearing at the caves' entrance, frantically signing "_Danger_!" certainly does. A shadow moves behind him, and without thought she leaps forward, shield in hand, fending off the arrow that would have been for her soldier's heart.

But saving one soldier is not enough, not when the cave is suddenly teeming with Sunfire elves, their steel arrow tips and blades all glinting in the glow of the lava like some sort of perverse twilight.

It then that _she_ appears from the shadows of the cave entrance, a fever dream made reality. Obviously the kind you get from heat stroke, Amaya reminds herself harshly.

There's a terse moment when they just glower at each other. The moment is shattered when the knight thrusts her sunforge sword forward, and the room descends into a chaotic, seething melee.

But inevitably Amaya comes back to her. It seems to be becoming a reoccurring problem. Taking the advantage, Amaya clambers up onto a roof, ramming an elven archer off with all the blunt force she can manage.

Amaya has just enough time to turn around before _she_ is there. Amaya feels that spark return when she looks into those amber irises.

And then with Amaya's beckoning fingers and vicious smirk, their dance begins.

They duck and weave around each other, a cycle of push and pull. Amaya ignores the sizzling pain of the sunforge blade slicing through her armour and skin when the elf mimics Amaya, beckoning her forward with a smug smile.

Something twists low in Amaya's gut. Just like the burn on her shoulder, she ignores the burn in her cheeks and meets the knights's challenge with a snarl. Their hateful dance resumes.

Amaya thinks she might just win, when the elf starts to glow a terrifying golden, and Amaya turns from thoughts of victory to a continuous stream of _get out get out you need to _get out_. _It becomes a game of survival, and Amaya is determined to win.

But her luck pulls through once more, thank the bloody spirits. Taking the chance, she rounds up her soldiers and scrambles out as fast as her tired legs will carry her.

She tries not to think about her reaction to the knight on that frenetic sprint back to the fortress. Because she's starting to have a sneaking suspicion what it means.

And it's a problem.

* * *

Amaya loves blowing shit up. And that's a fact. There has been a rare few times in her life when she has had some semblance of hearing, or the closest thing to it, and all of those moments have been from reverberating shockwaves.

So the idea that she's about to give the order to collapse ten thousand tonnes of rock and lava via blasting jelly, cutting Xadia off from Katolis forever, lights the anticipation in her eyes.

Naturally, it's all ruined.

Amaya curls her lip as a figure steps out from behind a stream of fire. _You again. _

The knight drops the length of rope, and for Amaya it means defeat. In that moment Amaya hates this mystery Sunfire knight utterly and in her entirety. Her actions mean that Katolis will be defenceless. That Gren – who is mercifully alive and well – and her nephews will be defenceless.

Amaya cannot allow that. So before her soldiers and Gren can realise, she is mounted and racing forward, the stink of horse sweat ripe in the air.

She will not fail.

* * *

She doesn't.

But now Amaya is roasting in a Lux Aurean cell. Literally. Like a duck. In an oven. Someone better come in soon with some herbs and spices or she won't have _any _flavour when she is plated up at a feast table.

She's temporarily resigned herself to her fate when she feels footsteps vibrating against the stone tiled floor. Amaya looks up to see the knight, veins pulsing and eyes verdant with Xadian magic.

"Welcome to Lux Aurea, human."

As much as Amaya wishes she could curse at the Sunfire knight, she cannot with both her hands tied behind her back. Instead, Amaya settles with glaring.

By the Orphan Queen, Amaya saved her life. And this is her thanks. Bitch.

The timid mouse with eye-glasses speaking in (albeit heavily accented) Katolis sign language is a surprise, though. "I am Kazi. I'm here to translate for Her Highness, the Golden Sun Knight Janai of Lux Aurea, sister to Her Radiance, Queen Khessa."

So this knight is a general of sorts. And a royal. Amaya huffs. It all makes so much sense now.

The knight moves behind Amaya and starts releasing Amaya's cuffs. She can see from the corner of her eyes the knight is saying something, but if the elf had even the slightest understanding of human anatomy, she'd know heads cannot turn that far.

Idiot. Ah well, for the knight's sake hopefully it was nothing important.

"What were your human soldiers doing on this side of the border?" The knight asks her imperiously.

Amaya resists rolling her eyes, and averts her gaze with pursed lips.

"What are the humans planning?"

Again Amaya averts her eyes, focusing on the tiled floor. She feels footsteps coming closer before red braids enter her vision.

The knight crouches down and snarls. "Say something."

Right. Good. Just_ fine_. Amaya will say something. Amaya's brows crease and her smile turns sly. "How about I turn you around and shove this sword up your arse."

The translator flushes a dark pink, and Amaya takes the opportunity to twist away, arms crossed. Right before her head is unceremoniously wrenched up by the furious knight. Ow.

"I suppose you think that is funny."

_Very._ Amaya nods and feels very comfortable in her smugness...

The little mouse translates to the knight, who growls and turns back to Amaya. "We'll see if you have the same attitude as our Queen."

...maybe she is a little less comfortable now.

* * *

Amaya is terrified.

The light is all-consuming, and it will blind her. She did not bow to their interrogation, so instead the Sunfire Queen will take her sight with magic as punishment.

Her breathing hitches. If they take her sight, she will lose everything. She will be able to save no one and nothing. Panic overwhelms her, and she desperately tries to struggle out of her bonds.

Strong hands suddenly grip her, and swing her around. It is the knight. Janai. Her mouth is moving and urgent, and although it is torture, Amaya keeps her eyes open.

"You have to look! If you want to live, you have to look into the light!"

It could be a trick. Janai hates her, wants her dead. But Janai is honourable, and she could have killed Amaya multiple times before this moment.

Amaya is standing on the edge of a precipice, one she willingly throws herself off by putting her trust in her elf. Amaya turns to embrace the light, bright as any sun, and tears of agony run down her cheeks with the effort of keeping her eyes open. Everything fades to white.

But she survives. And she can see.

"A human with a pure heart. How original." Amaya doesn't have to be able to hear to understand the sarcasm and disappointment in the Sunfire Queen's voice.

Amaya, for one, relishes in the fact she has aggravated the Queen.

She is grateful when Janai picks her up, arms under Amaya's shoulders. Amaya doesn't think she would have been able to stand by herself.

The walk back to the cells is long, and Amaya is barely conscious for most of it, her feet dragging heavy on the ground as Janai and a guard support her.

It feels good to close her eyes, and so she doesn't realise until they stop in front of the ring of fire. Janai and the guard let go of Amaya. She tries not to sway too much.

"Back to the oven?" Amaya signs groggily to the little mouse, who has since joined their party.

From this angle, Amaya sees Janai step forward and the corner of her mouth move. Amaya can guess she is questioning the translator on what she said.

Amaya watches the translator's chapped lips hawkishly for a reply – she is a nervous thing, this mouse.

"Your Highness, she asked if she was going back to the oven. I'm not quite sure what she—,"

Amaya sees Janai raise her hand to stop the timid elf's answer. Janai turns back to Amaya with quirked brows and an amused expression. Amaya is glad someone thinks her joke is funny, even if it's the knight that can't decide if she wants to kill Amaya or not.

"Yes. And I'm assigning two guards, just in case. I'm getting to know you too well."

Amaya does her best wicked grin.

Janai's smile drops, and her face becomes unreadable. Instead after a moment she motions to the guards. With rigid postures, they open a gap in the fire for Amaya.

Amaya winces. Spirits, this place is almost as blinding as the magic fire stick. Even though she is exhausted, Amaya gathers up enough strength to send a withering look back at Janai.

Janai looks thoroughly unimpressed.

The next few moments are awkward. There is no reason for Janai to still be here, no reason for anyone but Amaya's guards to be here, and yet the Golden Knight of Lux Aurea is...loitering, for lack of a better word.

But Amaya doesn't want this encounter to end, for some reason. Not yet.

Before she can think better of it, Amaya darts out and grasps Janai's hand. Even when Janai jerks back in surprise, Amaya holds on. Out of the corner of her eyes, Amaya can see the guards poised to attack. She ignores them.

Locking onto Janai's amber stare, Amaya tries to pour all the gratitude she can into their temporary bond. Janai's palms feel as calloused as Amaya's own, and they are damp.

A moment passes of them staring at each other, before they hear a small cough beside them. Janai's eyes widen, and she rips her hand from Amaya's.

Refusing to acknowledge the small twinge of disappointment for what it is, Amaya turns to the not-so-oblivious mouse that had just cleared her throat. "Can you tell her that I said thank you for saving my life?" Amaya asks quickly.

The elf turns to Janai and repeats her message. But Janai doesn't look at her. Apparently there is a more fascinating scratch on the wall. Gaze averted, she nods once and starts toward the stairs, shoulders broad and stride long.

After she leaves and the ring of fire is sealed, Amaya can't help but think that there could be only one reason why Janai's palms were damp in the throne room.

Janai had been worried for her.

* * *

"No matter. Queen sentenced him to be purified. After the ritual, I doubt there will be anything left of him."

If only. Amaya needs a moment she cannot afford, that _they_ cannot afford, to process and piece together what she has just been told. Viren is King of Katolis. He is in Xadia with an army, seeking passage. He is _here _in Lux Aurea, being taken to the Sunfire Elves' source of Primal magic at the Sunforge Spire.

And Ezran is...is most likely...

Amaya feels sick.

But she can't afford to grieve properly. She tucks the information away in her mind, and races after Janai before she can exit the ring of fire. Gripping her arm to bring her back, Amaya starts signing madly, desperately hoping the translator can keep up.

"If he's here, everyone is in danger! We have to stop him!"

Janai's brows crease, troubled eyes framed by shimmering golden war paint and ochre braids. "Are you certain?" She asks Amaya directly. Amaya nods in return without hesitation.

Her knight's jaws clench and she gives a short sigh. "Then we need to hurry."

_Thank the ancestor spirits. _Janai believes her. They take flight from the cells, and Amaya is right on her heels.

* * *

But they are too late.

They have run themselves close to exhaustion from the palace through the streets and mulling citizens of Lux Aurea, so close to the looming Sunforge Spire, when Amaya bears witness to sheer horror.

A purple eclipse consumes the miniature sun crowning the tower, haloed by bleeding reds and oranges. That's when people start to panic. She can see them open their mouths screaming as they flee. Amaya can feel the ground shaking and rumbling beneath them.

That's when they're close enough to watch a crowned figure burning to ash, fluttering off the spire into nothingness. Janai opens her mouth in a wail.

It was her sister.

Watching Janai's anguish turn to rage is almost comforting in its familiarity. When Janai's skin starts to burn in rivulets of lava, Amaya is not afraid. She understands. Amaya knows Janai's experience intimately, but she cannot allow her knight to throw herself into Dark Magic's grasp.

So Amaya catches up to her, and hurtles them both down to the ground. Amaya captures Janai's raised fist, meeting her eyes and willing her to understand, ignoring the searing pain and the smell of Amaya's own burning flesh to do so.

_Don't be an idiot_, she wishes she could tell Janai, _there's nothing you can do now. She would want you to survive. _

As if she heard Amaya, the rivulets seep back into Janai's skin, and the fight goes out of her. Instead she turns away from Amaya and toward the tower, hands outstretched as if she could still save her sister, and Amaya can feel the heart-wrenching howl leave Janai's body.

They needed to get out. Now. Amaya swallows roughly and moves forward.

Just as Janai did for her once, Amaya grips Janai underneath her shoulders and lifts. Janai doesn't struggle and doesn't look at Amaya at all as Amaya leads her away as fast as they can move.

She is completely pliant in Amaya's grasp. That is almost more disturbing than anything else.

Thankfully in the distance she sees the translator. The translator sees her in return and runs towards them. As they get closer, Amaya can see the girl is petrified and sobbing, wilting into herself.

Amaya lets go of Janai to speak to the translator, gripping her chin tight briefly. "Cry if you need to, little mouse," she tells her. "But then you need to pull yourself together. Run. Tell everyone you can find to meet on the far side of the city towards the riverland forests. Viren and his army are going another direction, toward the Dragon Queen, so we should be safe."

"How do you know this?"

Amaya curls her lip at the thought of the fucking traitor. "I know Viren. That is enough."

The elven girl nods, and swallows roughly. "And Her Radiance?"

Amaya shakes her head. "Let me worry about Janai." She clasps the girl in an embrace then, for just a moment. There is nothing wrong about wanting comfort in the face of disaster.

"Fly, little mouse," Amaya urges her, and the girl begins to run.

Amaya glances to Janai, now slumped and catatonic on the pavement. She sighs.

Now their work begins.

* * *

At some point along the way they find a horse. They're riding together, Janai cradled against Amaya's shoulders, when they enter the forest. Amaya's sight is sharper than most humans, thank the spirits for that, because heads start popping out of the darkness and Amaya can barely contain a sharp gasp.

They have gathered in the forest by the thousands. Tens of thousands. At its head is the little mouse, whom Amaya should _really_ start calling by her name. Kazi.

She shouldn't be surprised that a translator is skilled in communication, but, well, she is.

The quiet is eerie, given how vibrant and alive Lux Aurea was. People crowd around Janai, hovering as she dismounts and walks past them numbly toward a small stream, bending down to wash her face.

A male elf approaches, and Kazi comes up by Amaya's side, ready to translate. Amaya smiles, and nods her head toward the girl in deep appreciation.

"Your Radiance. Please. We need your leadership."

That gets a reaction out Janai. She hisses, and rises to stalk forward, grabbing the speaker by his throat and pinning him against a thick tree trunk. No one stops her, and that is when Amaya realises what is happening. She could bloody kick herself for being so slow.

Because Janai's elder sister is dead, her knight is now the Sunfire Queen.

It may or may not get Amaya killed, but she has to do _something. _Cautiously, as if approaching a wild horse – a carnivorous wild horse – Amaya walks up to Janai and puts a hand on her arm.

Janai turns to glare at Amaya, and doesn't let go of the elf's throat. Amaya shakes her head, and lifts her hands. "Can you please translate, Kazi? Tell her this isn't the way. That it will not bring her sister back. I should know; my sister was killed. I was also helpless to stop it."

Janai's gaze moves behind Amaya, and Amaya just has to trust that her words are being heard because she refuses to take her eyes off Janai. Slowly, Amaya prises Janai's fingers off the now violet-faced elf.

Janai lets her.

After the elf catches his breath and shoots a grateful look at Amaya, he rushes shame-faced back into the whispering crowd. Amaya watches him go, and turns back to see Janai staring at her intently. Amaya narrows her eyes in return, and Janai flushes.

Amaya reaches to grasp Janai's shoulder to comfort her. _It'll be alright. But first you need to help your people._

Janai closes her eyes, and breathes deep. When she opens them again, her amber eyes are alert and resolute. They are ready.

* * *

**A/N: Headcanon is Amaya blowing stuff up except it's a meme of Edna Mode. Also it's absolutely canon that she swears like a sailor. Don't me.**

**So basically this fic has been sitting in the depths of my half-finished stories file since S2 came out. I shipped Janai and Amaya since their first scene together – basically just prayin' it wasn't a queer-baiting thing. **

**And boy was I fucking glad I held out. So I'm writing this legit ten minutes after I finished S3, and I hope you've all enjoyed my small contribution to an amazingly canon (!) ship. **

**I'll upload the next chapter sometime in the next week. **


	2. Chapter 2

A messenger bird arrives for Amaya in the following days, and promptly vanishes in a puff of wind or something. Naturally. Because this is Xadia, a melodramatic place full of even more melodramatic elves.

Yet her mind changes when she begins reading the letter.

She finds her way to a tree and leans against it, sliding down to a sitting position against the soft down of moss and undergrowth on the rainforest floor. It hurts to breath. She closes her eyes briefly, and then reads those first few sentences again, this time allowing herself to believe the words she is seeing.

It is not a hoax, not a dream. Callum is alive. Ezran is alive. Even Ezran's little toad thing is alive. What is more, they've hatched the bloody Dragon Prince and have carried the infant safely to his mother at the Storm Spire.

She can't help it – Amaya begins laughing, wide-faced with relief and pure, unadulterated joy. The elves around her completing their work glance at her nervously from the corner of their eyes, as if she were a frenetic pup that may bite them. Who knows, maybe she will. It takes her a long time to settle, and that's only because of the second half of the letter.

Viren is almost there. Her nephews are not out of the clear yet.

Then there's a hovering, ominous shadow next to her. Two, now. She shifts her sitting position around, and for a brief time her thoughts go blank. Janai is looming above her, looking like she did when Amaya first met her – furious, beautiful, and very, very deadly.

Amaya is suddenly regretting all her life choices that led her to this point.

Kazi stands to her right uncomfortably. "Her Radiance also received a letter from the Storm Spire, General Amaya, and beseeches you to answer a few of her humble questions."

_Shit_. This is not good. They know her name. Who she is.

Amaya pulls what she thinks is an apologetic face, meanwhile praying to the spirits to get her as far away from this conversation as possible. She would even settle with Evenere, the grim shithole that it is.

"She wishes to know when you were going to grace her with the knowledge that you are the aunt of the rightful King of Katolis, and that you were not just a mere captain or lieutenant at the Border as we previously assumed, but the General of all Katolis' Western Forces, including the Border army."

_Shit shit_.

She glances quickly at Janai, still glowering at her, and looks away. There in her line of sight a particularly interesting slug slides across a branch. Amaya frowns. It has antlers. Why? What could a slug possibly do with antlers? It's like someone dreamed up this realm after eating a batch of bad mushrooms.

Kazi moves into her line of sight. "Her Radiance wants you to stop evading her and answer."

Amaya sighs. _Fine_. "I don't know. Some...time? Eventually? Maybe never? She can choose whichever of those she likes best." Her hand movements steadily become cutting and sharp, the same effect as raising her voice. Because Amaya is rapidly tiring of this interrogation. All she wants now is a fast horse and a direct route to her family.

Kazi winces as she translates to Janai.

"Her Radiance wishes you to know that as her prisoner she could have you drawn and quartered and set on fire for your disrespect."

Now Amaya looks back at her knight, and raises a cool brow. "Call me pragmatic, but being set on fire after being drawn and quartered seems a little unnecessary. Maybe consider beforehand?"

Janai stares right back at her, mouth pursed and shoulders tight. After what seems like an age, she sighs, raking her fingers through thick braids. Amaya frowns when she takes one step forward, then another, before walking over and thumping down next to Amaya.

By the Orphan Queen, what is she doing?

Janai angles her face directly towards Amaya, and Amaya knows it's done intentionally so she can read Janai's lips. Amaya feels a flash of deep gratitude, which pierces through her current annoyance.

"Stop being a pest, human."

Amaya can't help the small tinge of pleasure she feels watching Janai's full lips, even if it is to form insults. However, Amaya's rather rapid descent into fantasies concerning those lips becomes unhinged when Janai continues.

"I merely wish to know when my forces are leaving for the Storm Spire. There's a Dark Mage that needs killing and I wish to do it personally."

Amaya stops, barely daring to breath, searching Janai's gaze for any hint of a lie. But there is none. Her knight, with her quirked brows and twisting smile, is entirely too smug. But Amaya cannot hate her for it.

Without thought, Amaya jumps up and pulls Janai alongside her. Before Janai can ask Amaya what the spirits she thinks she's doing, Amaya pulls her into an embrace, holding the elf tight enough that Amaya feels one of her own joints pop. Janai smells of rain and metal and sweat, and right now Amaya has never smelt anything more wonderful.

They stand like that for a long time, Amaya thinks for Janai's comfort as much as her own. When they finally separate, Kazi is gone and Amaya and Janai go back to pretending they dislike each other.

Well, Janai, at least.

* * *

Ten or so Sunfire Elves have gathered in a small clearing, orbiting desperately around Janai in the depths of this humid, lush paradise. Although, Amaya thinks as she slaps her neck with a dark hiss, she could do without the mosquitoes as large as her palm.

From their clothing and weapons, Amaya assumes – correctly – that around half the elves here are Knights, the rest being mages and other royal staff. These are the people that will help lead the Sunfire Elves into battle, so although they look like a bunch of smarmy pricks, Amaya feels obligated to like them.

From what Amaya has learned, there are just less than a thousand Sunfire warriors able to fight after what Viren did in Lux Aurea. They will be outnumbered, but it is better than nothing.

"They are calling the – ," Amaya frowns, too slow to catch Janai's words, "— to them?"

"Yes. There are seven on hand, Your Radiance. Enough for you and your Knights to travel. As for your soldiers, we've been able to gather almost a thousand mounts. If we ride hard, strap supplies to each soldier rather than to a supply train, we could be at the Storm Spire by nightfall, and just before the Dark Mage and his beasts."

Janai nods her head, deep in thought. Another of her knights opens his mouth, toying with thick, crimson braids. "The mounts will be useless in battle if we exhaust them by weighing them down with supplies. It will have to be an infantry line against the humans, then."

"Good. It is what we are best at."

"Are they even human anymore?" Another in the clearing says. Amaya notes with interest that the elf's eyes are a solid white. She is blind. "According to the scouts, the Dark Mage has corrupted them all. Monsters are what they are. Creatures of dark magic. My mages and I would have trouble, even if we did still had access to the Sun Nexus. All we can be of use for now is healing."

At this point Kazi melts from the forest undergrowth, and gives Amaya a pleased smile. The little mouse sneaks around like one too, apparently.

Amaya sighs, and grimaces. No mages, and less than a thousand infantry warriors against the combined armies of three human kingdoms, all of whom have been warped by magic. Evernere is even starting to look _good_ by comparison. Amaya remembers once thinking in her youth that that was the point of no return. Evernere. Good.

Amaya is so intent on following the conversation that she mistakes the falling shadow over the group as a cloud. It isn't until she feels the thump of the landing that she turns around and shoots a full foot into the air with alarm.

"What the _fuck_ is that?!" Her hands are moving so fast they are almost a blur. If Amaya used her voice she would probably be screeching like an infant. She sees one of the elves laughing at her. Bastard. She will put stinging nettle in their sleeping sack.

Instinctively she looks to Janai, whose suspiciously mirthful eyes Amaya scowls at. "That is our transport," Janai replies.

At the same time, Kazi signs something that translates as 'Two Tails Fire Tooth Big Stripe Cat'. Even Kazi looks hesitant, fingers stuttering as they speak.

"Oh," Amaya amends, "So we're going to face down Viren's army on the back of an overgrown flying cat?"

Kazi translates and Janai huffs. "It is a Twin-Tailed Inferno-Tooth Tiger, not a cat."

Okay, Amaya thinks, looking at the animal. That makes more sense. Definitely more pretentious. But still ..."You made that up," she accuses. "Why would you give that poor cat such an unnecessary name? And you've gone and lit it on fire, too."

Kazi translates, struggling to contain a smile. Amaya watched in delight as Janai listens, outrage growing on her face.

"It's not a cat! It is a magical creature sacred to the Sun Primal, not that you humans would have any idea." Janai squints at her. "Is this going to be a problem?"

"What? No, of course not." Amaya grins. "I love cats."

Janai's face drops, and her forehead lowers to rest gently against her palm and muttering something Amaya can't see. She looks to Kazi questioningly.

Kazi shrugs. "She says at this rate she'll die of frustration before she dies of a sword."

Smugness fills Amaya. _Victory_.

* * *

They leave when the sun is high. Amaya hobbles onto the back of a fire cat, and gingerly holds Janai's waist. Amaya sends a silent prayer to get her through this without shoving Janai off the animal.

Amaya feels her stomach jolt when they take off from the forest canopies. From the air, she looks down to see the fast-moving stream of Sunfire Elves on horseback, weaving an intricate web over the northern bank of the river leading to the Storm Spire.

Soon she will be with Ezran and Callum. She could protect them until her last.

Amaya closes her eyes and revels in the sensation of wind shrieking over her skin, and a small ember of hope is fanned.

* * *

**A/N**:**This was meant to be updated a few weekends ago, but our capitalist overlords got to me, and I picked up extra shifts around when I was meant to be writing this. And, ya know, Christmas. **


	3. Chapter 3

They spend the journey in comfortable, dull silence.

To tell the truth, the only reason it is comfortable or dull is that Amaya takes several naps, and therefore cannot fidget and twist and turn and drive Janai mad from it all.

Although Janai does not know it, she should be grateful for the most important of soldier's habits – the gift to nap anywhere and everywhere.

And if Amaya can nap on a horse without falling off, she can nap on a flying cat, too.

She holds onto Janai's waist, though. Just to be certain.

Amaya then slips in and out of consciousness for spirits know how many hours, although it is long enough that when she wakes, the elven army is nowhere to be seen.

By that point, the day has faded and the evening chill has crept in, and the first star in the sky has emerged from the curtains of dusk to greet them. Amaya shuffles closer to the Janai, who radiates with all the heat one would expect of a Sunfire elf.

Amaya sighs contently as warmth melts through her body. Now if only there was some way to procure one of these elves during the harsh Katolis winter marches and camps... Amaya eyes her elf thoughtfully.

Then in the light provided by the flying cat's two tails, she notices a flying insect of some description on Janai's neck. Amaya pulls a face and brushes it off quickly, but not quickly enough to miss the shiver that runs through Janai at Amaya's touch.

A smirk curls on Amaya's lips. _Very interesting._

Like a curious child searching for jelly tarts, Amaya's outstretched fingers reach for Janai's neck once more. As if sensing her intent, Janai whips around, face flushed and furious.

"_What_ do you think you're doing, human?"

"There was a bug," Amaya says innocently. Janai's scowl deepens.

_Ah, of course_. Amaya forgot. Janai can't understand sign.

Janai realises this at the same point that Amaya does, and turns back with a gruff exhale. Amaya ignores the twinge of disappointment.

The silence is tense after that.

* * *

By the time they approach the Storm Spire, the sun has disappeared and the moon is guiding them with its all-seeing eye above a clear twilight.

She sees soldiers milling at the base of the mountain, and after the inital wave of panic comes and goes, she realises they're Sunfire elves.

How in the cursed hellsdid they get here _before_ Janai and Amaya? Exactly how fast are Xadian horses, and more importantly, where can Amaya get one? Her fingers tap in irritation against her thigh as she eyes the army narrowly.

Fucking magic.

Yet all thoughts of Xadian horses and their practicalities flee when she sees the dragon. Her hand jumps to her hilt, then stops. Amaya forces herself to take in a deep breath.

Allies, she reminds herself. They're allies now.

This dragon won't be threatening to burn everyone and everything she holds dear, at least not anytime soon. Just as the elves she marches with won't be skewering Amaya's soldiers with arrows and spears and spirits-forsaken magic. Something twists in Amaya's gut at the wrongness of it all.

_Allies allies allies –_

Janai turns around. "What is wrong, human? You're tenser than a yearling being harnessed for the first time."

Amaya grits her teeth and remains silent, but let's go of her sword hilt reluctantly.

Janai looks back at the mountaintop, and returns to Amaya with appraising eyes. "You do not like dragons."

Amaya snorts. A human disliking a dragon is not exactly a novel concept. What fantastic deductive skills her elf has, truly the reasoning of a geni—

"Stop looking at me like that."

Amaya makes her face go slack and dead-eyed.

"Don't look at me like that either," Janai says, as they draw closer to the ground.

Amaya is readying herself for a particularly impressive eye roll when she sees two figures emerging from the cave. She recognises two of them, and all of a sudden she feels beyond incandescent.

The cat angles down, the rapid descent sending Amaya's stomach swooping, and a small laugh of wonder escapes her.

Janai shifts around and gives her an odd with a wry smile.

But Amaya barely notices, barely feels the impact as the cat lands and she jumps off, racing towards Callum and Ezran.

Their faces are older, but their smiles are still the same. She envelopes them in her arms, squeezing them with all her might, closing her eyes with the effort. Everything is in its proper place.

Except the blasted Moonshadow elf.

The last thing she expects is for Callum to jump between them at the same time Amaya takes a single, threatening step forward.

Amaya stands there utterly nonplussed as Callum starts to ramble. She tunes in just in time to catch the stammered, "...but Rayla is our...uh...friend."

...fucking _what_?

She has hauled herself over mountains and out of prisons and through a_ctual rivers of lava_, all for her nephew to make cow eyes at baby Moonshadow assassin.

"Uh, looks like you have an elf friend now, too?" Callum says , staring over Amaya's shoulder.

Internally Amaya winced. Okay, so she wasn't in the best place at the moment to judge her nephew.

She glanced ruefully at Janai, who is crossing her arms and scowling. "We are not...friends." Janai sas through a clenched jaw. "She is my prisoner."

Right. And Viren is actually a beefed-up adoraburr. "She thinks I'm cute, she just won't admit it yet," she signs smugly to Callum.

He smirks, and Amaya turns around just in time to catch – something – on Janai's face. If Amaya didn't know better she would say it was panic.

Whatever the emotion is, it's washed away in an instant when Janai covers her face with crossed hands. "I am Janai, Golden Knight of Lux Aurea."

Amaya huffs in annoyance. The Sunfire Queen is still parading around as a knight, and it takes a great deal of effort to silence the petulant side of Amaya that desires nothing more than to out the elf as Lux Aurea's ruler.

"I've brought my city's forces, what is left of them. They wait at the bottom of the Storm Spire, ready to fight the monster who destroyed our home."

It is hard watching the hope bloom on her nephew's faces over the idea of a mere thousand soldiers against an army numbering in the tens of thousands. It means that until now, they had none.

Her nephew turns to an approaching Skywing elf. In the background, Amaya spots the baby dragon she can only assume is Azymondias, and Viren's firstborn brat. The spirits truly love jokes their little jokes; the son of Thunder, standing at the side of the son of the man who was responsible for his death.

"I know you said we should run, but we want to help. We want to fight."

The next few moments are a blur, with everyone speaking at once Amaya doesn't understand what Ezran is doing until the dragon is already in the air and she is left standing on the ground.

She blinks. And blinks some more. Strangely enough, it does not magically bring her runaway child nephew back. Nor does it magically make the other one less suicidally-inclined.

"Callum," she says mildly when she finally gets his attention. "Come here please."

Amaya tries for a gentle smile to put him at ease. It doesn't work.

"I...uh...I have a lot of work to do, Aunt Amaya."

Amaya drops her smile. "Not now you don't. You have some explaining to do."

* * *

Amaya is staring at the stars, sitting at the same spot where they landed when she feels the footsteps of someone approach.

"What did you say to your nephew? The mage, not the boy-king."

Amaya sighs. The last thing she wants to do right now is to struggle to talk to someone. "Unless I have somehow learned to speak in the last several hours," Amaya signs caustically, "why—

Janai hands her a rough book of papyrus and a charcoal stick.

Oh.

Amaya relents, and starts to write.

Janai's braids look black in the moonlight as she reads what Amaya wrote.

"You don't want them to fight? But they show much bravery and courage."

Amaya huffs, and writes a single word, circling it several times to highlight the point.

"I _know_ they are children." Janai says with a sour look. "I am not blind."

_Could have fooled me_, Amaya scrawls quickly.

Janai ignores her. "I do not think you have to worry. I saw your king jump on a dragon as if it was a mild palfrey, and your oldest nephew has been shooting lightning around inside as a party trick, and not an unheard of feat for a human."

Amaya is silent for a few moments, thinking of Sarai and Harrow, of Khessa and Thunder, of Annika and Neha. She picks up the charcoal.

_Sometimes even the most powerful fall._

* * *

The next day arrives, she can smell Viren's army before she can see them. It's the rank stench of unwashed bodies, of sweat and piss and horse shit, and it flows like a putrid river up to her nose. The rock she stands on tremors.

In her experience this alone means one thing: the army will be vast. It is a problem, even without taking into account the limited numbers of defenders Amaya has, as well as the traitor's dark magic. And that of his whelp.

_Spirits_.

Amaya glances over to Callum, who is trying to hold a one-way conversation with the flying cat, and in that moment she wishes nothing more than to whisk him as far away from this battlefield as possible. He is a child and her nephew, one of only two small, fragile pieces of Sarai she has left. The pounding in her head picks up; her panic increasing with every pulse.

_He shouldn't be here, he can't –_

A soft hand grips her wrist.

Amaya looks over to find Janai staring down at her intently, amber eyes molten. "If worse comes to worst, I have told two of my most capable Knights to get your nephews and the Moonshadow elf as far away from the Storm Spire as possible."

Amaya feels her heart slow, and she lets herself take a breath. _How did she know?_ Amaya raises her hands to speak, and then lowers them with a scowl when she realises it's pointless. Janai can't understand sign.

Her knight taps her wrist, claiming Amaya's attention once more. Janai's look is contemplative. "Not that it helps, but there are others also his age on the battlefield. I don't like those so young fighting, but we need them if we have a chance of winning. Your nephew is a powerful mage. He must be. To be human and to have gained access to a Primal Source is imp..." She shakes her head, "_was_ thought of as impossible, until now. We need him."

Amaya smiles softly. Sarai and Harrow may no longer be here to see their children thrive, but Amaya is. And she is proud enough for all three of them.

Hesitant, Amaya stretches out her hand to grasp Janai's shoulder, watching to see if Janai will accept her touch. The elf's eyes widen, but she lets Amaya hold her. Though Amaya couldn't string two sentences together at the moment even _if_ Kazi was here to translate, she tries desperately to convey her gratitude for the comfort Janai has given her.

It must work, because Janai smiles, and it is everything.

It is honest and warm; a camp fire lit in the darkness of a frosty night, and Amaya decides then and there she wants to see a thousand more just like it. They are still staring at each other when all of a sudden the warm feeling she had burns hotter, brighter. Amaya finds her fingers drifting up to Janai's jaw, stretching up to meet smooth skin. Janai leans closer, eyes brilliant and mouth slightly apart –

The vibrations of the rock beneath them get louder.

Amaya hisses, and drops her hand from Janai's face. Here she is mooning over the thousand and one smiles some Sunfire Elf might give her, but to see a thousand more, Amaya might have to focus on just surviving today. She steels herself. All thoughts of desire are gone, but Amaya still finds herself checking Janai.

But Janai's jawline is iron as hers and a sneer is already curdling over her mouth. Amaya laughs. If there was anyone in this world that was her match, it would be Janai.

Of the two of them, it is Amaya that takes the first step down from the cave, moving to join Callum. At this point it is worthless to speculate who might win this battle, but one thing is for certain:

Those fuckers are in for it.

* * *

**A/N: Please review if you have the time, I'm subsisting on a diet of comments and suggestions atm. Also I'm unbetaed, so please tell me if you spot any typos. **


	4. Chapter 4

Vicious and sloppy. Her assessment at this morning's council stands. Amaya watches the battle start as they often do – the bloodthirsty and the battle-mad break rank first, and the rest follow.

_This is not her army, this is not her people, _Amaya has to remind herself. The men and women that were loyal to Katolis and were disciplined for its cause above all else no longer exist. Thousands upon thousands of Katolian lives have been thrown away. For nothing.

Her whole life has been spent in dedication to Katolis' armies and to its soldiers. Those Amaya has trained over the years have trickled down into every unit in the kingdom. So she has no doubt she will be haunted by some familiar faces today.

She will try to think of those friends, comrades, and students as shades. No longer of the living and certainly no longer hers. So really Amaya cannot murder them, because Viren has already gladly accomplished that feat.

Believing this little fantasy might be the only way she gets through today sane. Amaya swallows roughly, and wonders where she went wrong. How did their love for their country warp into _this_?

Or maybe that festering hate has always been there, ready and waiting for someone like Viren to give it direction.

In another life, maybe Amaya herself might have taken Viren's place in pointing the human armies and their vitriol towards Xadia. Spirits know she has been no stranger to hate. How much of her own hate had her soldiers inherited? How much has she been responsible for the decisions of those Katolians now opposing her?

There is no telling.

Many things might have been different had her nephews not taken those first steps to peace between humans and elves, had Janai not plummeted into her life.

"_The forces of Lux Aurea will fight bravely, to the last man standing."_

Thinking back to the council meeting, Amaya still doesn't like the insinuation that was there in that cave. The very idea of seeing Janai cut down sickens her to her core, but between that and seeing the elf submit to Viren, Amaya knows which one she prefers.

Some people were built never to bend, only to break. She and Janai have that in common.

But no matter the likelihood, no matter the cost, Amaya will not let it come to pass. So she lets that resolve settle in her bones, and watches as a single monster becomes five, and then five hundred. Soon all are charging with faces of unquenchable rage. The Sunfire infantry hold the line in front of her, their golden shields a full body length in size.

The energy rises in her blood and she feels it as her cheeks warm. She shoots a glance to Soren at her side. First battles are always the hardest. She hopes the kid's stomach is strong enough for this.

The elves are waiting for something. Amaya follows their line of sight to Janai, her face hawkish in her concentration. "Wait," Amaya reads on Janai's lips. "Wait!" Amaya turns back to where Viren's monsters are loping closer. And closer.

Amaya takes a steadying breath. Soon.

It's only when she can practically see the sweat on their faces that the elves drop their shields, and an unstoppable, chaotic wave of amber magic flings Viren's creatures aside as if they were made of the lightest cloth. The sight is magnificent but for a few moments. Wonder turns to dread as Amaya watches the creatures rise, the madness and magic stronger than before.

She pulls a face. _Fine, this is all fine. We'll just have to resort to Plan B._

Plan B was very similar to Plan A, except Amaya just had to be a bit more energetic and productive about her kills. After all, there are now several hundred more enemies than expected.

This is what she gets for relying on fucking magic.

Viren's creatures push forward. She doesn't need to hear the impact. They smash against Janai's forces and the shock sends visible ripples through her army.

The line holds. Just. If they can – _oh shit. _Amaya sees the magic right before she feels it. In a single blow, the breath is stolen from her body, hurtling her and everyone within range backwards courtesy of the concussive blast of magic sent by Viren's brat.

She clenches her eyes shut as she feels the world spin around her. She doesn't know which way is up or down or sideways. But the impact is soft.

_Soft?_

Dazed, Amaya takes a few moments to come to terms with the fact she is still alive. But how? What it grass? A shrub? A supply pack? Confused, Amaya opens her eyes through the dust haze, ignoring her rioting gut.

She is on a rock outcrop, so by rights she should be broken and dead. She squints closer at the ground, and with dull horror seeping through her, Amaya realises she hasn't landed on a plant or pack, but a person. She rolls to the side.

Crimson eyes stare unseeingly out from a young face, his limbs spread at wrong angles, blood dripping from his nose. Judging but the shine of his armour, he hasn't been a soldier long. Amaya wonders if it was the blast that killed him, or her landing.

She closes her eyes and sighs in deep. Amaya needs to pull herself together. She can't afford to be sentimental, or it will get her killed. This isn't the first time she has stared down at someone's dead child and felt responsible, and it likely won't be the last.

From the haze there is movement, and another young elf with a seeping gash above her brow reaches her hand down to pull Amaya up. She takes it gratefully. All around them, elves struggle to push themselves up and return to help their brethren.

But also, many don't.

Within Amaya simmers a cold rage unlike any she has felt before. The energy and effort she once put into hating Xadia and Sarai's killers has a new direction, a new target.

Viren. It should have _always _been Viren.

Amaya has constantly counselled herself against using rage in battle, but not today. Amaya feeds on her anger. She lets it seep throughout every inch of her body, her sight, her touch, her smell.

Viren made these people, who once were _her_ people, into mindless thralls of dark magic.

But this kind of magic never comes without a price. He may have made them infinitely stronger, yet in doing so he corrupted them, he stripped them of their free will and of their capacity to anticipate and counter and to think as individuals. They are a hive mind with one purpose, and no matter how strong they are _they will not escape her sword_.

She tightens the grip on her hilt. Now there is nothing left to do but fight.

* * *

She doesn't know how much time has passed, she realises as she yanks her sword from an enemy's skull with a wet crunch. Only that they are losing.

Janai and Soren are still alive, though injured. Most of the dragons that came to their aid are grounded, cocooned in iron chains and their flames rendered useless by whatever magic Viren is using. Ezran is still in the air, and she prays to any spirits that will listen that the scorpions' chains cannot reach him.

Her throat still feels raspy from where the Neolandian prince had her with one hand, and her knee has been off since the bastard threw her back into Janai. Amaya seems to be making a habit using elven cushions in this battle. Well, at least the second cushion made it out alive.

So far.

A shadow reaches the corner of her eye, and Amaya throws her head backwards, pushing up her shield just in time to catch an axe. In a quick, efficient motion, she spears her sword around and up under her opponent's ribs. She sees the fire go from the woman's eyes, and feels a grim pleasure as another of Viren's monsters is dealt with.

She turns to find the glint of a spear racing towards her. She doesn't even have the time to feel fear before it is snatched out of the air by a Sunfire Knight, one she recognises from the forest. Amaya lets out a shaky breath and nods her gratitude.

The Knight returns her nod with a smile, and races back into the fold.

Amaya pushes the spike of mortal panic down and allows herself another breath. Everywhere she looks is chaos, at every direction there are more Sunfire elves are being overwhelmed. With no one or nowhere to guard her back, she feels more vulnerable than she has in a long time.

Amaya was stupid to stray this far away from the main force. She needs to get in a more strategic position, and she needs to do it _now. _Or else the next spear might be her last.

Near the rockface she sees Janai and Soren standing with a scattered group of Sunfire soldiers. Right. That'll have to do then.

Amaya started jogging, too tired to run, fending off stray blows with her shield and dodging soldiers locked in struggle. She does stop twice, once to skewer a soldier trying to get up and another time to pierce an enemy through the soft spot at the back of his head, freezing him in the act of trying to kill one of Janai's soldiers.

There, never let anyone say Amaya of Katolis didn't pay back her debts.

The elf looks up at her as if Amaya were an avenging spirit come to rescue them. Who knows, maybe she is. Amaya motions her head to the side, and the elf scrambles up to follow. Together they pierce a trail through to Janai. Spotting a chance to live a few more moments, other surviving stragglers join them.

Amaya feels a rush of energy she sorely needs when Janai spots her and grins. "Trust you to still be alive in this cold-cursed fight!"

Amaya would laugh if her bruised throat would let her. She settles for a wink and a grin. She claps Soren on the shoulder, grimly pleased he made it this far.

"I don't think we can hold out much longer, General," he pants.

Amaya grimaces. They always knew this might be the outcome. She points to the rockface. They'll live longer if they can get their backs to it. Janai watches her and nods, gesturing to the soldiers.

As they move out, Amaya watches Soren sigh and feels pity. She never had to doubt she would survive her first proper fight, back in the day. Soren wouldn't have that luxury, and against his father's forces no less.

Her ragtag group of humans and elves create an outward facing circle, slashing forward at their attackers. Amaya knows her defence is getting sloppy when a sword catches her on her bicep, missing her armour and slicing a welling red line through her shirt.

One of the elves goes down, and Amaya has no time to spare them a thought as she steps over them, tightening the defensive circle. More of Viren's soldiers approach, almost making a queue around them.

Well, the numbers are simply just not with her. Amaya spares a look to the sky and the pinprick that is Ezran, and to the mountain where Callum is.

_Please make it out alive, I'll say hi to your mother for you._

To her right, Janai tugs her sleeve insistently. Amaya turns back reluctantly from her goodbyes to see Janai tapping her shield.

"Arrows!"

Amaya looks up just in time to see the black cloud streaking through the sky, and along with the rest of her group, crouches down and wrenches her up her shield. Not a second later, her arm starts vibrating from the sheer force of dozens upon dozens of arrows.

What in the fucking Orphan Queen is it now?

When the rain ceases, Amaya emerges to find most of Viren's forces dead or dying, and Katolian and Dureni standards raised proud and high on the hills beyond. Amaya no longer cares about her throat. She starts laughing in shallow wheezes, barely able to contain her mirth. Spirits, _how_ is she not dead already? Sarai must not want her company just yet.

An occasional guffaw slips out as they have to duck back under the shields when the next volleys come. Even still as the arrows stop and the human armies crash into Viren's forces, Amaya is giddy, throwing herself back into fading battle with newfound lust.

After a time, Janai comes to her side as Amaya dispatches the last of Viren's soldiers not surrendered or in chains. It was a very elegant kill for someone who has been fighting for hours, if Amaya did say so herself.

"You're crazy, human" Janai informs her, shaking her head. "Do you ever stop?"

"Maybe you're just lazy. And I don't care," Amaya says primly. "I'm too happy to be alive."

"One day I am going to learn sign language, and not tell you when I understand all the rude things I know you're saying to me. Then I'm going to put you back in your oven."

"Not fucking likely."

They smirk at each other. A single braid has escaped Janai's hair bind and frames her face. Even as a sweaty and bloody mess, Janai is beautiful as she is deadly and magnificent.

"Come on," Janai nudges her. "Let's go find our people."

Against all odds, they survived this day. 

* * *

**A/N: Hey, long time no see. Hope you're all keeping safe! I went a bit heavy handed on the violence in this chapter, purely because I get a bit carried away with writing battle scenes. If its too much let me know. Enjoy!**


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